Jeannie watched me closely. “What?”
“I got Evan back.”
The response from the two of them was so silent, absorbingly quiet, that I could hear the second hand on my clock tick past. Connor broke the moment, glaring around the room. “Where? I don’t see him.”
“I don’t see him ‘here,’ like I used to. We kind of meet each other in the middle.”
“That explains the extreme aura following you around,” Jeannie said. “What do you mean you meet in the middle?”
“I don’t know. I guess I sort of zone out? Or get half-way to sleep and I’m able to extract myself from my body. Lift up. He meets me there. It’s in the room where I’m sleeping. We just talk. He comes from his side and I come from mine and we just talk. It’s been nice. He’s my best friend.”
“Ava is your best friend,” Connor reminded me.
“For the record, Evan’s also worried about this,” I defended. “I’m not sure why it’s a big deal. Everyone is happy. I’m getting what I need and Evan gets to see me. Do we really need to know why this is happening? I take energy from ghosts and it fills the rotting spot in my soul Charlotte left. There has to be a reason the spirits are in my life – maybe this is it?”
“Evan’s worried and you didn’t think you needed to talk to anyone? Why the hell are you so stubborn?” Connor asked.
I turned and glared at him. “Me? Are you really asking me that question?”
“Yes! You just admitted you’re stealing spiritual energy and you still don’t think you’ve got a problem!”
“How dare you judge me. And what are you even doing here? You ignored me for an entire year and you think you can just show up and jog with me or ask me favors. You got your kiss and I let that slide. But you still managed to ruin things between me and Louis. I think we’re even.”
“Don’t blame your omissions of truth on me, Jane.”
“Says the pot meeting the mother-freaking kettle.”
“Calm down,” Jeannie said. “There are people downstairs and, wow, if you could see what I’m seeing. It looks like a hurricane brewing in the air between you two.”
Connor and I both took a step back from one another. I couldn’t look at his disappointed face one second longer and turned my back on both of them. I knew better than to confide in them. In anyone.
“Jane, when you leave your body what happens?”
I kept my back to them, refusing to answer.
“Jane, come on. It’s important. Maybe you’re right. It could just be another aspect of your gift we haven’t realized yet. Perhaps it’s not a bad thing.”
I glanced over my shoulder and Jeannie seemed genuine. Connor, on the other hand, still looked furious. “I kind of float up and out of my body. Then it’s me and Evan. I can see and touch him. He can see and touch me.”
“Are you in the same room?”
“Yes, but it’s a little darker. Hazier or something.”
“And this energy thing?” Jeannie asked. Her tone was soft and supportive. As always. “Can you tell me more about it?”
“It happened the first time by mistake. A ghost came to me. I’d been avoiding them – I didn’t want any of them to touch me because of being Shadow Bound. God forbid they knew about that, like, through some kind of ghost gossip chain, and tried to body snatch me. But this one girl grabbed my hand and, instead of feeling cold, I felt warmth. Not just on my hand, but in my heart. In the empty spot left from everything that happened last summer,” I explained. “Once the feeling faded away, I wanted it again. So, I tried it with the next ghost and it was easy. It felt right. Like Charlotte had taken something from me and I was getting it back.”
“And Evan?” she asked.
“I didn’t expect that to happen. One night last school year I fell asleep – or thought I had – and he just appeared. I thought it was a dream. Sometimes I still do. Things are different there. Pretend? Shadowy wisps and inky crows and I’m not always sure what’s real. But he always takes care of me. He lets me take energy off of him, so I’m not doing it with other ghosts.”
“Are you sure it’s real? You said it seemed like a dream.”
“I’m sure,” I said, but part of me wondered about the strange stuff that happened when we were together.
I realized what I told them sounded pretty crazy. Maybe I was. I stared at the posters on my wall, the ones I left when I moved to school, and they seem so juvenile, yet they also seemed like a part of me. How did you let the past go? How could I turn my back on Evan again?
Jeannie tugged on my sleeve and I spun, falling into her open arms. Connor stood by the door, hand rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes were fiery hot, the anger and hurt boiling beneath the surface. I rested my cheek on Jeannie’s shoulders, letting the tears fall. When I looked up again, he was gone.
*
After Jeannie left my room and the guests were huddled on my parent’s back porch drinking and eating their way through the New Year, I left my room to sneak to the bathroom. On the way back, I heard Connor’s voice at the bottom of the stairway. He hadn’t left after all. I pressed against the wall and strained to listen to his low voice.
“Savannah’s packed with them. I feel like everywhere I go I’m tripping over one dead guy or another.”
“And she doesn’t?” Jeannie’s voice cut through the darkness.
“Not that I can tell. Just the couple we’ve worked on together. The first time I noticed it was with the guy in the river. She dove right in – no clue it was a ghost.”
“Are you helping all these people?”
“Jane and I are working on one girl together – we can’t figure out her angle. We crossed over one amnesiac. I brought her to both of them. She didn’t see them first. I did.”
“Curious,” Jeannie said.
“I’ve ushered a couple others as well, but that’s the weird thing. There are a lot of ghosts, but not many are looking for help. I’m not sure what they’re doing,” he paused and I pressed my hands against the wall, absorbing every word. “They do seem attracted to her. There tend to be two or three around her at all times, but she’s not aware.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Jeannie sighed. “Unfortunately, your description falls in line with what I’m seeing. She’s cloaked in death. Not just Evan. There’s something else.”
“Remember, when she first started this, I saw more than her. She had Evan and I had an onslaught. Maybe we’ve switched places?”
“Yeah, but I think the changes with her gift come from the incident with Charlotte. And you said she can see them if pointed out. There’s something about this I don’t like.”
They fell silent and I waited, confused and growing angrier by the second. Connor saw ghosts that I didn’t? Or couldn’t? He kept this from me? I peered down the dark stairwell and saw them at the bottom. Connor’s face was visible by the glow of the lower level hallway light. He looked as upset as I felt.
“I’m scared,” he confessed to Jeannie. “Jane is my compass. She’s always been the one to guide me through this mess – help me know what’s right and wrong. I’m better now, but I accept I’m still on shaky ground.”
“You’re strong and have been through a lot. More than a lot. A metric crap-ton of paranormal crisis, but you’ll get through this and you’ll back her up. Just like she’s always backed you up.”
“I can do it,” he said, looking a bit more resolved. “For her.”
*
The New Year started cold, rainy and like a slap in the face. Jeannie and Connor were keeping secrets from me. They were worried and, oh, apparently I had lost my touch. Ironic, since I’d been “touching” ghosts way more lately. In fact, I needed to get my hands on one immediately and fill the nagging, desperate emptiness that had engulfed my body over the last day.
I announced over breakfast that I’d finished packing my bags and would be leaving before noon. My change in plans upset my mother. She’d hoped I’d stay for one more day. But now I
didn’t want to be around Jeannie or anyone else. Going back to school a day early seemed like the best idea. I dropped my bags in the entryway and walked into the kitchen, where my mom buzzed around, cleaning up from last night.
“Before you go, take these over to Ms. Frances,” Mom said, handing me a plate of leftovers from the party. I pretended I didn’t see the concern on her face.
I passed the old tire swing and knocked on Ms. Frances’ back door. I gave her a minute to get there – it took her a while sometimes. “Jane,” she said, when she saw me. “Honey, how are you?”
“Mom wanted to send these over,” I said, holding up the plate.
“Thank you, dear.” She pushed open the screen door and I stepped inside. In the kitchen, I left the plate on the counter. “You look tired,” she said. “And sad.”
“Boyfriend troubles,” I confessed. Everyone could relate to that and Ms. Frances wouldn’t ask too many questions. I also wasn’t sure how far reaching her gifts were and at least that wasn’t an outright lie. “But it’s okay.”
“You poor girl,” she shook her head. “My Darius found himself in trouble with girls all the time. I tried to teach him right, but they make foolish choices.”
“Yeah,” I said, scratching my thumb on the countertop. I didn’t really want to talk about Louis. Or Connor. Or even Darius. “I’m leaving for school in a little bit, but I just wanted to drop those off.”
“I appreciate it, dear,” she said. Her cloudy brown eyes rested on my neck. “I see you’re wearing Tonya’s necklace. I hope it’s providing you peace.”
“People compliment me on it all the time.”
“I see the darkness around you and, sure enough, you’ve got a mountain to climb. Be careful, Jane.”
“What do you see?” I whispered, desperate to know Ms. Frances’ secret.
The old woman just shrugged. “Just darkness. You’re in a delicate position. One toe in each world. There are consequences for that.”
The hole in my chest pulsed.
“I see other good things coming your way. You just need to have a little faith.”
“I’m trying.” I thought for a minute and added, “Things seem confusing right now. Sometimes I’m not sure what is real and what isn’t.”
“Like when you first met my Tonya?”
She remembered. When I first met Tonya, I thought she was real. Skipping along after Ms. Frances. When my father didn’t see her, I knew she was a spirit. Maybe that was my problem. Maybe I was muddling up real and not real.
“Maybe so,” I agreed. “It’s hard to tell sometimes.”
She rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “You’ll figure it out. Remember, you’ll figure it out when the time is right. Sometimes you have to wait for the information. You can’t push it.”
I nodded and stepped toward the door, the heat of the kitchen getting to me. “Thank you, Ms. Frances, you always help me see things clearer.”
“Sometimes it takes an old lady to get through the muck,” she laughed. “Don’t push away people who are trying to help. I know you have that habit.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve got the same one. We don’t like people in our business, but we’re in the business of dealing with people. You gotta open up.”
I stepped away from the porch and walked back to the house, resting my eyes on the still swing. Ms. Frances was right. This would be revealed one step at a time. I just needed to be patient.
*
The drive back to Savannah was long and boring. Ava planned on coming back the following day, but since dorms were open for students who needed to get back, I escaped as soon as I could. My house felt too confined. I blamed my funk on the break-up and my mother believed it enough to give me some peace. If Jeannie wanted to tell her about our conversation, she could.
Back in my dorm room, I felt pent up and angry. Sad. Because Louis dumped me. Angry because, apparently, I’m crazy. And Connor? I didn’t know how to feel about Connor, although I had a better idea of how he felt about me.
I ate two of the three cookies my mom sent back with me and considered watching sad videos on YouTube, but I had energy racing through my veins. Maybe it was just the sugar, but I needed some fresh air.
After lacing my running shoes, I downloaded some vengeful music on my iPod. I passed the quiet dorm rooms of my housemates, taking a gulp of the cold evening air when I hit the front steps. I took off down the streets. It was dark and late, but the street lamps were lit and enough people had their Christmas lights up. I felt pretty safe.
My legs started cold and stiff, but my body warmed up. Just as I eased into my run, someone stepped into pace next to me. I recognized Connor’s gait and body immediately. That only pissed me off more. He shouldn’t be so familiar. Not anymore.
I kept going, ignoring him, even though I knew I couldn’t outrun him. Blood pumped in my ears, drowning out his footsteps. Aggravated, I crossed in front of three cars without looking, the front bumper of one grazing my thigh. The driver blared their horn in frustration.
“Sorry!” I shouted, never looking back.
“Jane!” Connor yelled.
We neared the part of town close to his dorm. I spotted his building and ran in that direction. Twinkling lights wrapped around the walkway railings and lit trees sat in the wide, former motel windows. If I couldn’t beat him, I figured I would lead him this way on purpose, hoping he’d drop off and leave me alone.
As we neared the area where we confronted our amnesiac ghost, I heard Connor faintly call my name again. Screw him. Screw all the boys. Having had enough, I jerked to a stop. Through struggled breaths, I shouted, “What the hell, Connor? Stalk much?”
He rested his hands on his waist. I was pleased to see he had was having a hard time breathing, too. “I’m not stalking you.”
“Yeah, right. You just happened to come back early and go on a run.”
Connor shook his head. “My break sucked. I’m not used to all that family time anymore. All my friends from high school drink and smoke and I can’t, no, I won’t do that. I’m still on probation. I figured I’d just come back. My mom basically shoved me out the door.”
I searched for something snarky to say back, but my heart wasn’t into it. He looked as sad as I felt. Finally, I said, “Back off of me, okay? I can’t deal with all of this right now.”
“Deal with what?” Angry confusion clouded his face and, for a second, I wanted to smack it off.
“You’ve been holding back on me! I heard you and Jeannie the other night.”
He clenched his jaw, prepared to argue with me, but then his eyes grew wide. He shouted, “Move!”
“Move where!?” I shouted I return, but then I saw the dark, inky shadow run through his chest before it slammed full force into mine, knocking me backwards. I lost my balance and skidded forward, catching myself hard on the ground with my hip and palms. My cheek crashed into the sidewalk.
“Jane!” Connor yelled. He knelt down and lifted me up, pulling off my hat. “You’re bleeding.”
“What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know.”
My face felt like it had been smashed with a shovel. “How bad is it?” I asked. It felt terrible. Tentatively, I touched my nose and teeth to see if they were busted. “Ouch.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” he said helping me off the ground. I felt around my mouth, checking my teeth, everything seemed to be in place. “You’re going to bruise and you have a pretty big cut under your eye, but it could be worse.” His eyes searched the area around us, but we were alone. The shadow was gone. “Let’s go upstairs and I’ll clean it up.”
I had little choice but to follow him. My hip took the brunt of the fall – well, the part that my face didn’t absorb. I limped along with him and he kept his arm around my waist.
“Again, I ask, what kind of ghost or spirit was that?”
“
I don’t know.” Connor fished the key out of his pocket and opened the door. “I’ve never seen one that dark before. It didn’t have a body.”
“I’ve never had one run me over like a freight train.” He nodded and ushered me in the room. He flicked on the lights, but nothing happen.
“Must have burned out,” he said, after trying a couple more times. He walked to his computer and switched it on. Light and music poured out, giving us enough to see. I glanced around the room, noticing that both sides were pretty neat this time. Tom must’ve cleaned before he went home for Christmas. I noticed a drawing taped to the wall. Different from his normal, creepy artwork.
“That’s new,” I said, pointing to the sketch. The partial image of a girl’s smile tipped upward seemed utterly positive against the gargoyles and demons.
“Yeah, apparently the goth phase is new for Tom. Before this semester, everything was sunshine and roses. Now? It’s like haunted house stuff. I guess that’s one of the old ones.”
The room was overly warm, but maybe that was from running so hard. I stripped off my jacket and gloves, tossing them on the desk chair. Connor handed me a clean, damp towel. I pressed it against the wound under my eye.
Connor took off his jacket and went into the bathroom. He came back out with a first-aid kit and gestured to the bed. “Sit over here.”
He rolled the desk chair over and placed his knees outside of mine. The first-aid kit balanced on one leg. With shaky fingers, he unwrapped an antiseptic wipe and said, “Okay, move the towel.”
“It’s going to hurt,” I whined.
“Probably, but I need to see if this needs stitches.”
I lowered the towel and watched his face. He didn’t seem disgusted or exceptionally panicked, which was a good sign. Connor used one hand to steady my head and the other to gently dab the cleaner on the wound. “You okay?” he asked when I winced.
“Yeah, does it need stitches?”
“I don’t think so. The cut really isn’t bleeding that badly. It’s more of a bad scrape.”
“You saw that thing before I did,” I said. “Why can you see them and I can’t?” He tensed, but said nothing. “I heard you and Jeannie in the hallway last night. I know you’re worried about me. I know I’m missing stuff.”
Grave Possession (Wraith 3) Page 11
